Our Approach

Human. Forward Thinking. Driven by Science.

We never stop evolving. Every day our team is on a mission to improve Paradigm Personality Labs’ effectiveness by creating new assessments and tools. We are determined to grow opportunities for individuals and groups and to understand and align their personalities at work and school. Our people-centered approach is holistic, grounded in science and outcome-focused.

Thirty years ago, our co-founder Dr. Pierce Howard came across the Five-Factor Model while researching his first book, Owner’s Manual for the Brain. Ever since then we have been passionate about the Five-Factor Model’s power to effect positive change for everyone who uses it.

Pierce and Jane Howard wrote an article about using the Big Five in the workplace, “Buddy, Can You Paradigm?” that was published in T+D, the Association for Talent Development’s trade journal (September 1995). It was the first time the Five-Factor Model was mentioned in a trade journal article. It described the psychology community’s shift to focus on five major personality traits, rather than four, and how they can be applied to organizations. The Five-Factor Model—also known as the Big Five has become the gold standard in personality measurement and is now used by psychologists across the globe.

These are just some of the benefits of our system :

YEARS OF RESEARCH AND EXPERIENCE

Paradigm is built upon decades of personality research and consulting experience: The Howards pioneered the use of the Big Five model in business and organizational settings. We leverage this knowledge and experience to understand people, and we honor their complexity, individuality, and diverse strengths. We believe in you and your workforce.

PARTNERSHIPS WITH I/O CONSULTANTS

Our in-house team of experts and I/O psychologists provide expertise and consult with you to design workplace interventions using our assessments. We share best practices, templates, and processes so that you can confidently use the assessments to achieve your company’s goals. Whether we design the approach for you, we design it together, or you design it yourself, we offer unparalleled customer service as you work with our WorkPlace and SchoolPlace products suites.

NUANCED APPROACH TO PERSONALITY

We find beauty and power in individuality. Our assessments decode test-takers’ personalities, motivators and drivers to understand what unique capabilities each person brings to the table.

We don’t believe in one-size-fits-all approaches to organizational development. We do believe in putting the humanity back into human resources.

As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Every individual nature has its own beauty.”

GLOBAL COMMUNITY OF PRACTITIONERS AND PROFESSIONALS

Our consultants are specialists and subject matter experts in human resources, organization development, and talent management. They are certified to use our assessments to solve business problems.
We facilitate collaboration and connections through our users’ conference and through our online community. We encourage personal introductions, partnering and collaboration.

CLEAR, CONCISE AND COMPLIANT

We use the Big Five model to help individuals thrive at every level of their organizations, from students and new hires to managers and executives. Paradigm Personality Labs’ assessments have been reviewed by employment lawyers and adhere to Equal Employment Opportunity Commission standards. Our assessments use clear and concise language that is suitable for all industries and organizations.

STRONG PSYCHOMETRICS

The WorkPlace Big Five Profile™ is one of the most psychometrically robust tools on the market. Our personality assessment’s average coefficient alpha of .83 is among the highest of all assessments and meets all International Test Commission guidelines.

Coefficient alpha is a versatile statistic that is accepted as an indicator both of validity and reliability. Good alphas support validity, in that they suggest that all items are measuring the same thing. They also support reliability, in that they indicate that the respondents are answering consistently.

EASY TO USE

Our assessments take just 10-15 minutes to complete online. WorkPlace Big Five Profile™ 4.0 has only 107 questions. Reports are delivered in real time to the Paradigm-certified consultant.

FORWARD THINKING

Paradigm is forward thinking. Ask about our special reports, our suite of assessments, our products in development, our publications, and our research studies. Ask about how the assessment can solve your workplace issues and support your goals to thrive. Our WorkPlace assessments can be easily contextualized for extended workplace applications.